Kayak Fly Fishing by Ben Duchesney

Author:Ben Duchesney
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780811766050
Publisher: Stackpole Books

Whether the paddle is in your lap or in a paddle holder, controlling your boat while fighting a fish comes down to the same concept: leverage. With only one hand to paddle, you must rely on your body, specifically your waist. Your kayak’s gunwales can also assist in making sure your paddle shaft is at the proper angle to the water, using that as sort of a secondary axis. Imagine your fly rod in your right hand, a good bend in the rod and all your slack line put onto your reel. The fish is running and is trying to drag your kayak right into a downed tree, causing you to lose the fight. With your left hand, pick up your paddle from where it is sitting on your lap, near your hip. Your left hand should be in the same position along the paddle shaft that it would be for completing a normal forward stroke. Where your right hand would normally go, place that point along the shaft against the front of your right hip. Use your hip as the axis point as you push off with your left hand, causing the paddle blade on your right side to push against the water, spinning your bow to the right and moving the boat backwards. You can either continue to spin your boat in this manner and drift in front of the downed tree, or execute another stroke on your left side to move straight backwards.

To perform that same paddle stroke on the same side that you’re holding the paddle shaft on, slide your left hand up to where you would normally put your right hand for a forward stroke. This stroke is much more awkward and tricky than just paddling with one hand. Once your left hand is where you would normally put your right hand on the forward stroke, place the paddle shaft where your left hand would normally go on your left hip. Pull back on the paddle shaft and your hip will act as an axis for the shaft to rotate; your bow will be pulled towards the left and the boat will continue to move backwards.

If you’re standing and must use your paddle to maneuver your boat, your chest becomes that leverage point. There is some disagreement among anglers as to whether it is more difficult to paddle with one hand while sitting down or while standing up. I think it’s easier to get your paddle blade in the correct position while sitting down, but if you are standing up you have a trick up your sleeve for adding more power to your stroke that you don’t have sitting down (more on that in a second).

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